Water slides are popular ride attractions for water parks, theme parks, family entertainment centers and destination resorts. Water slides not only offer welcome relief from the summer heat, they also provide an exciting and entertaining diversion from conventional pool and/or ocean bathing activities.
In one type of water slide, a bather or rider slides his body and/or a flexible riding mat, tube or raft (“ride vehicle”) along a downward-inclined sliding surface defined by a flume or water channel that bends, twists and turns following a predetermined ride path. The flume also typically carries a flow of water from a starting pool at some desired higher elevation to a landing pool or run-out at a desired lower elevation. The water is typically continuously recirculated from the lower elevation to the higher elevation using one or more pumps and then continuously falls with gravity from the higher elevation to the lower elevation flowing along the slide/flume path. The water provides cooling fun for the ride participants, and also provides a lubricious film or fluid between the rider/vehicle and the ride surface so as to increase the speed of the rider down the flume path.
The popularity of water slides has increased dramatically over the years, as they have proliferated and evolved into ever larger and more exciting rides. For example, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,857,964, issued on Apr. 22, 2004, entitled “Reducing Radius Slide Feature”, which is incorporated herein by reference. Nevertheless, park patrons continue to demand and seek out more and more exciting and stimulating ride experiences. Thus, there is an ever present demand and need for different and more exciting water slide designs that offer riders a new and unique ride experience and that give park owners the ability to draw larger and larger crowds to their parks.